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The White Tie Affair
The White Tie Affair (aka TWTA) is a pop rock/electronica band from Chicago, Illinois. The members consist of: Sean-P (guitar), Chris Wallace (vocals), Tim McLaughlin (drums), Ryan Cook (bass), and Ryan McClain (keyboard). In early 2007, the band signed with Epic Records/Slightly Dangerous and released their debut album, Walk This Way in April 2008. The album contains the band's two singles, Allow Me To Introduce Myself...Mr. Right and Candle (Sick and Tired), which have been featured on MTV's TRL and The Hills. The later song is also receiving significant airplay on mainstream top 40 radio stations as of March 19, 2009. According to the band's biography, "the two founding members both agreed that they wanted to bring some fun back to a music scene that largely focuses on the negative aspects of life."1 The band has a wide range of influences including: Prince, Stevie Wonder, AFI, and The Police. History Growing up in Chicago, the band started piecing together sounds - everything from Stevie Wonder to AFI to The Police and came up with original, catchy songs. The White Tie Affair finally unveiled their musical work, playing shows all over Chicago. Their home city continues to greet them with open arms as the band has sold out the Beat Kitchen and has been main support for Lucky Boys Confusion at the annual reunion show at the Metro. The band signed with Epic Records/Slightly Dangerous in 2007 and began touring with such artists as: Secondhand Serenade, Making April, Innerpartysystem, Metro Station, The Medic Droid, and Kill Hannah. In the fall of 2007, the band recorded their debut album, Walk This Way, at Annetenna Studios in Burbank, CA. In January 2008, bass player Jeremy Johnson left the band and was replaced by Ryan Cook. No one knows why Jeremy left the group. In March 2008, the band was invited to perform at the annual "Pajama Party" at the Playboy Mansion. That summer, TWTA joined the 2nd Annual True Colors Tour for the show's Midwestern leg, sharing the stage with Cyndi Lauper, the B-52's and Rosie O'Donnell. TWTA also headlined several dates of Kill Hannah's Hope for the Hopeless tour during this time, along with The Medic Droid. That fall the band was part of Playboy's Girls of the Big 10 Tour and was featured in a fashion spread in the magazine's November issue. TWTA was also featured on episode six of MTV's The Hills. In December of 2008, the band's remix of All Black was included in Good Charlotte's Greatest Remixes release. In 2009, the White Tie Affair toured with Secondhand Serenade and served as the opening act for Lady Gaga, who started her first solo North American tour, The Fame Ball Tour, in March. Following the Lady Gaga tour, the band will take part in Van's 2009 Warped Tour. The White Tie Affair (or at least Sean P., Chris Wallace, Ryan McClain, and Tom McLaughlin) will join bands such as Thrice, NOFX, 3OH!3, All Time Low, Cash Cash, and Alexisonfire at the summer-long music festival. Commercial Debut On April 22, 2008, the White Tie Affair released its major label debut, Walk This Way. The album contains the singles Allow Me To Introduce Myself...Mr. Right and Candle (Sick and Tired). Produced by Matt Mahaffey and Jeff Turzo of Wired All Wrong, the album was recorded at Annetenna Studios in Burbank, CA. in the fall of 2007. The music videos for Mr. Right and Candle (Sick and Tired) debuted on No Good TV in the spring of 2008 and were also featured on MTV's TRL. The uncut director's version of the two videos reached 400,000 views on YouTube, and was the most watched YouTube video on March 29, 2008. In December 2008, director Jon Watts filmed a new video for Candle (Sick and Tired)! which featured guest appearances by Joel and Benji Madden of the band Good Charlotte in the tour bus scene. Watts has previously filmed videos for numerous bands including Death Cab for Cutie and the artist Fatboy Slim. Live Show/Style The band has been critically acclaimed for their dynamic live shows. Many of TWTA's songs are dance songs which the band performs with a kinetic energy that thrives off of audience interaction. An article from the Chicago Sun Times describes the sound: There’s a chance the White Tie Affair is on the cutting edge by adopting that “has a beat and can be danced to” mentality. “In my opinion, it seems like music is leaning toward that,” Wallace says. “Hellogoodbye and Justin Timberlake kind of let us know that it was OK to do that. That took the pressure off and paved the way for us to do what we love without falling in line with a scene. The White Tie Affair sounds like a fusion of Timberlake and AFI working together to create pop for the PlayStation generation. – Kyle Koster, Staff Reporter, Chicago Sun Times. In an October 31, 2008 New York Times review, music critic Jon Pareles writes that The White Tie Affair's style is "leaning toward new-wave guitar and mixing apologies with come-ons." The band's post-punk guitar riffs and driving drumbeats combined with catchy lyrics create a fresh poppy-rock sound that is both infectious and fun. In March 2009, they were featured in the Verizon Wireless's Rhapsody commercial with their song Candle (Sick and Tired). In April 2009, the band was also featured in Soundcheck Risers. Band Members *Sean P – Guitar, Programming *Chris Wallace – Vocals *Tim McLaughlin – Drums *Ryan Cook - Bass *Ryan McClain – Keyboard, Guitar Discography Albums EP External links *Official Website *The White Tie Affair on MySpace *White Tie Affair Fans *Official JamNow Page with Recorded Live Performance and Interview *The White Tie Affair - Official Fan Club for The White Tie Affair *[http://www.playboy.com/style/fashion/white-ties/index.html TWTA Playboy Fashion Spread] *[http://www.cosmogirl.com/entertainment/celeb-qa/qa-white-tie-affair?click=main_sr Cosmo Girl's White Tie Affair Interview] *[http://www.seventeen.com/fun-stuff/17-buzz/white-tie-affair Seventeen's TWTA Interview] *Soundcheck Risers TWTA Interview Category: Bands LTJ have played with Category: Links to Wikipedia